Fellowships and Funding for Postdocs and Early Career Researchers in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences: A Brief Guide

Introduction

This guide is a general introduction to postdoctoral fellowships and research funding opportunities for earlycareer researchers in arts, social sciences and humanities. The information on the various schemes outlined here has been mostly gathered from the funding institutions’ websites, and is intended to be a starting point for your own research on the topic. Funders often change their eligibility criteria, application processes and deadlines, and even well-established annual competitions may be changed or even discontinued. Given this, we would advise you in all instances to check the relevant institution’s website if you are intending to make an application.

Fellowships and grant funding require institutional support, which means that you will need to talk to your head of faculty/department at an early stage, in order to discuss the type of support the faculty/department can provide. It is important to make sure that whoever is hosting you is aware of what kind of support the funder is expecting the host institution to provide. This is especially important in the case of replacement teaching (which must be discussed and agreed with your head of faculty/department before the application is made) or where a financial contribution of the university is required.

This guide also gives a basic indication as to whether the fellowship or grant is intended to cover all the research project’s costs (this is usually labelled ‘full economic costing’ – fEC), or whether it will only cover them in part (such as the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, which funds up to 50% of salary costs).* Of similar importance is the information relating to the level of overheads that can be expected from the different schemes. If your head of faculty/department is in any way unsure about the financial implications of grants, he or she is advised to contact the University’s Research Operations Office, whose staff would be happy to explain these implications on a case-by-case basis.

* Full Economic Costing is explained at: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/cam-only/univ/fec/

Fellowship or Grant?

This guide focuses on postdoctoral fellowships and research grants. Postdoctoral fellowships are often thought of as short-term posts designed to help with the development of an academic career. In the case of research grants, the focus is on the research project and usually a team of researchers coming together under a Principal Investigator (PI), although several of the schemes listed here are designed to give early career researchers their first opportunity to play a role in research leadership. Another possible option is to link up with an established researcher and apply as a named researcher on her or his grant. You could be named as either a Co-Investigator, Research Associate or Project Coordinator. This would open up funding avenues that are only usually available to those on permanent contracts. In addition to the experience gained while working on such funding applications, you might also be able to substantially shape the project and enhance the chances of funding success. This can be of considerable mutual benefit.

The type of post or grant which will be best for you depends on your needs and priorities. Do you want a year or two to write up your PhD and begin establishing a publication record? Are you ready to develop a new research project? Do you want experience leading a team of other researchers? Given that competition is fierce, it is always advisable to keep several options open and not only to apply to a single scheme.

Subject-specific

This guide focuses on some of the major fellowship and funding competitions, but is by no means exhaustive. The research website for the arts, humanities and social sciences provides a growing resource of background information about funding opportunities, schemes and available support [www.ahssresearch.group.cam.ac.uk]. One specific source of information about opportunities in your subject area is the Research Professional database of funding opportunities that is freely available on campus (off campus only after registration on the website). The database allows subject-specific searches for funding options and schemes (such as grants or fellowships), as well as funding for conferences and travel. Each faculty has set up their own subject-specific email funding newsletter which can be accessed via your Departmental Administrator. Other sources of information may include subject-specific email lists and discussion groups in your research area that link researchers nationally, as well as through networking at academic conferences.

It is also worth looking for smaller amounts of funding which can cover research expenses, conference or seminar costs, or short-term visits to archives and libraries abroad. Research Professional is a very useful tool for finding these which is intuitive and easy to use. Online training is available through the website and also by your Departmental Administrator or Research Grant Administrator on how to use the database.

General guidance and support

Apart from formal applications for funding, many job and research opportunities can emerge through personal contacts. Apart from participation in academic conferences and workshops, it is therefore useful to build up a network of people at Cambridge. Possible avenues for sharing research ideas are CRASSH for a, reading groups, seminars and lectures in faculties, research centres and colleges. Initial information on seminars and similar activities can usually be found either via your Faculty/Departmental Administrator or through the university website. Informal networking with peers and senior colleagues should not be underestimated and is a common way of exchanging ideas at Cambridge. These avenues can often help you develop new research ideas, broaden your research perspective and agenda, as well as germinate new collaboration and funding ideas.

When you have decided which funding schemes you would like to apply to, then there are a range of support structures that can be of help to you. The research website for the arts, humanities and social sciences is building up a growing repository of useful information for applicants. Your faculty/department is the primary source of advice for fellowship applications but where applying for a research grant advice can also be sought from the School Research Facilitators. They can offer information on the funding bodies and their schemes and can provide support with writing grant applications and offer feedback on draft applications. Whenever possible, they can also provide examples of successful applications. They work primarily on large grant applications where the prospective host institution is Cambridge.

In terms of more general advice on how to approach writing your application, the ESRC has developed a helpful guide on how to go about funding applications (see Appendix 1). See also the comments by an experienced researcher on how to write a successful application (Appendix 2).

Each faculty/department also has dedicated Research Grant and Departmental Administrators whom you should contact. They are there to offer expert help and advice with the financial/budgetary aspects of applications. All funding applications need final clearance from the Research Office Operations team. Their role is to check issues of eligibility, as well as the financial and contractual side of your application. Should you need guidance on contractual arrangements, for example as a College Teaching Officer, please contact your subject-relevant contact at the Research Office.

For large grant applications and particular funding schemes, the University operates an informal peer review process composed of members of staff sitting on official peer review panels. This peer review is currently in place for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Peer review of your application takes, at the longest, four weeks, but is often quicker. If you have a well-developed draft of your application and would like to submit it to the peer review panel, please contact the Research Facilitators.

If you would like to know how a postdoctoral fellowship or research grant might fit within your overall career plan, or even whether either option is the right one for you, then you may want to consult the University Careers Service. Diane Caldwell-Hird is the dedicated Careers Adviser for research staff in the arts, humanities and social sciences, offering information and guidance whatever your career aspirations. Check out the Early Careers Blog for Researchers which is curated by Careers Advisers from the Cambridge University Careers Services. It provides up-to-date insight into the climate of early career research, aids for exploring next career steps, guidance on job applications both within academia and beyond.